What your favorite characters say about you

[CyberGhostface]

This was a meme on LiveJournal, but since I don't use it for personal journals, I thought it might be fun to try here.

Basically you list ten of your favorite fictional characters (preferably from different fandoms although it's not required) and ask people to spot patterns in your choices, and if they're so inclined, to draw conclusions about you based on the patterns they've spotted. I'll try and start.

In no particular order...

1. Randall Flagg
2. Hannibal Lecter
3. Tony Soprano
4. Benjamin Linus (Lost)
5. Jigsaw (Saw)
6. Tyrion Lannister (A Song of Ice and Fire)
7. Captain Spaulding (The Devil's Rejects)
8. Holly Short (Artemis Fowl)
9. T-Bag (Prison Break)
10. Gollum (Lord of the Rings)

I'm not 100% positive about this, but its what comes to mind at the moment...

[Seymour_Glass]

I'm afraid of you.

[razz]

I'm afraid of you.

second

hmmmm

1. The Doctor (Doctor who)
2. Dexter Morgan
3. Cthulhu
4. Data (star Trek)
5. Alucard (Hellsing)
6. Father Anderson (also Hellsing)
7. Heathcliff Flowen (Phantasy Star)
8. Wolf (the talisman)
9. Guy Montag (Fahrenheit 451)
10. The Weighted Companion Cube (Portal)

[cozener]

I honestly intended to give this a try and come up with your literary profile as it were but I ran into a problem...I've never heard of half of the people either of you listed. Although, from the characters I do recognize from Cyber's list, Gollum, Soprano, Flagg, and Lecter, it appears he has some kind of fascination with viciousness, criminality, and committing evil on a grand scale. This means that he's probably not like that at all. Cyber, I think you're probably a nice, mild mannered guy in real life and these characters are something of a release for you. I don't know much about the other people you listed but I checked out a few on google and the ones I looked up appear to be similar to the ones I already know about.

Razz...you're fucked up dude. No really. The characters I recognize are Cthulu, Dr. Who, Data, and Guy Montag. From these I get a sense that you are fascinated with power. Cthulu...obviously...a big dark god. Dr. Who...has the power to jump from time to time and place to place and is blessed with multiple incarnations. Data...more or less immortal, has the intelligence and knowledge base of a computer, is physically and, to an extent, mentally superior to those around him. Guy Montag...one might think that he doesn't fit this mold but he does. Fahrenheit 451 Spoiler...

Spoiler:

He represents the power of knowledge. He's more or less an average joe but throughout the book he knows things normal people don't because he's a fireman then he memorizes a snippet of the Bible which is what earns him his acceptance into the group of learned hobos. This group is the ultimate expression of knowledge in a way, being, collectively, a great mental storehouse of the written word. Also, they survived the nuclear attack at the end because their knowledge made them outcasts.

So yeah, you got power envy, Razz. But this doesn't separate you from others I don't think. Most guys are into characters that have power. Its almost as much of a given as our built in map to the world.

Yes...I'm like totally talking out of my ass here...

[mia/susannah]

I will have to come back to this!!

[turtlex]

Just a quick comment here --- all things are open to interpretation....

For instance - razz indicating Data. To me, Data is the epitome of selflessness. Data strives to be a better "person" at every opportunity and is loyal and dedicated. He uses his strength and knowledge to help and better those around him. He is not about immortality or power.

( Measure Of A Man is one of my all-time favorite TNG episodes )

I guess you see what you want to see.

[flaggwalkstheline]

hmmm
1 Gilbert Grape ("whats eating glibert grape?" the book and the movie)
2 John Locke (lost)
3 Ziggy Stardust (David Bowies alter ego)
4 The Vampire Lestat (Anne Rice's vampire chronicles)
5 John Fury Zacharias (Imagica by Clive Barker)
6 Pippin Took (Lord of the rings)
7 Ed Finnerty (Player Piano by Vonnegut)
8 Johnny The Homicidal Maniac (Jhonen Vasquez)
9 Marla Singer (Fight Club)
10 Buddy Bradley (Hate Comics by Peter Bagge)

[cozener]

Data strives to be a better "person" at every opportunity and is loyal and dedicated. He uses his strength and knowledge to help and better those around him. He is not about immortality or power.

I agree...Data himself isn't about immortality and power but he does have those things and its about whats going on in Razz' head, not Data's. And when I look at his other selections, this is the common thread I see.

[turtlex]

I agree, Coz... for sure, but also remember, these are favorite fictional characters... not favorite heroic characters.

I could say that Hannibal Lector is a favorite fictional character of mine because I love it when they toss him in jail, or I love the way that Clarice beats him at his own quid pro quo.

( and just FYI - yeah, Hannibal isn't one of my favorites, I was just using that as an example )

[Empath of the White]

1. Roland Deschain (The Dark Tower)
2. Remus Lupin (Harry Potter)
3. Drizzt Do'Urden (Legend of Drizzt)
4. Hellboy (Hellboy lol))
5. Jack Skellington (The Nightmare Before Christmas)
6. Jarlaxle (Legend of Drizzt)
7. Eddard "Ned" Stark (A Game of Thrones)
8. Joker (The Dark Knight version)
9. Ra's Al Ghul (Batman Begins version)
10. Mr. Wolf (from The Belgariad by David Eddings)

[pathoftheturtle]

Data strives to be a better "person" at every opportunity and is loyal and dedicated. He uses his strength and knowledge to help and better those around him. He is not about immortality or power.

I agree...Data himself isn't about immortality and power but he does have those things and its about whats going on in Razz' head, not Data's. And when I look at his other selections, this is the common thread I see.

But... if you're the one who's right on this, then why did he pick Wolf?

Most guys are into characters that have power.

My brother's favorite Star Trek character is Q. So, razz, you're not all that fucked up, really.

...it appears (CyberGhostface) has some kind of fascination with viciousness, criminality, and committing evil on a grand scale. This means that he's probably not like that at all. ...

Dude... That's just what he wants you to think!

Seriously, tho, I don't know about the "committing evil on a grand scale" part. I mean, it's not like he picked Sauron. R.F. may have started the superflu, perhaps, but Cyber seems mostly to be interested in virtual-to-full psychos more than in true megalomaniacs.
Anyway, though, I don't much believe in conventional psychoanalysis, so I'm just going to use an impressionist approach here: I'll give another character that each of you did not list. Please don't take it personally; these are solely based on what you've posted right here on this thread.
CyberGhostface: Alex (A Clockwork Orange)
Seymour_Glass: John Bender (The Breakfast Club)
razz: James Bond
Cozener: Harriet M. Welsch (Harriet the Spy)
mia/susannah: Holly Golightly (Breakfast at Tiffany's)
turtlex:Christine Sullivan (Night Court)
flaggwalkstheline: Holden Caulfield (The Catcher in the Rye)
(BTW, bud -- I love Hate! )
Empath of the White: John Constantine (Hellblazer)

But I ain't a hater, I'm a participater. Here's... erm... well...*shrug* here's some for me:
Cyrano
Captain Nemo
Douglas Roberts (Mister Roberts)
Rick Blaine (Casablanca)
Ben Braddock (The Graduate)
McMurphy (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)
Luke Wingo (The Prince of Tides)
"Hawkeye" Pierce (M*A*S*H)
George Berger (Hair)
Tommy Walker (Tommy)
Linus (Peanuts)
Elwood P. Dowd (Harvey)

[turtlex]

Markie Post?!?!? I freakin' wish I looked like her!!

Of course, I never really watched the show so personality-wise, I'm clueless.

ETA : Mister Roberts is a hero of mine, and one of my favorite characters - ever. Nice.

[flaggwalkstheline]

I actually almost put Holden Caulfield on my list
But I identify with Gilbert Grape more than I do with Holden

[Ozymandias]

1. Roland - The DarkTower
2. The Comedian - Watchmen
3. Admiral Adama - Battlestar Galactica
4. Shaun - Shaun of the Dead
5. Michael Corleone - The Godfather
6. Selene - Underworld
7. Dr. Manhattan - Watchmen
8. GOB - Arrested Development
9. Rorschach - Watchmen
10. Gandalf - LOTR

[LadyHitchhiker]

In no particular order and just off the top of my head:

1. Dr. Leonard McCoy - Star Trek
2. Eddie - The Dark Tower series
3. Wolf - Talisman
4. Max Feir - Stranger
5. Momo - Momo
6. Zaphod Beeblebrox - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
7. Janet Weiss - Rocky Horror Picture Show
8. Seymoure - Little Shop of Horrors
9. Kitty Foreman - That 70s Show
10. Chris Park - Adventures in Babysitting

I love that Guy Montag was mentioned from Fahrenheit 451. Excellent choice. Unfortunately he didn't spring to mind immediately for me in my first 10...

[Woofer]

Hrm. I'm not sure I can flat out say these 10 and these 10 alone because I feel I would have to segment these into favorite characters by character type, e.g. favorite villains, heroes, underdogs, minor villains, and so forth, as well as by era and genre. Too many books, stories, movies, songs, and T.V. shows to narrow 10 favorite characters from the entire cannon of human artistic expression.

The reasons I love Dr. Frank-n-furter in RHPS are far different from the reasons I love Alex from A Clockwork Orange or Ford Prefect or the entire cast of The Lion in Winter or Dr. Cox from Scrubs or Sterling (or Darius or Jeffrey) from Jeffrey or Walter Neff, Phyllis Dietrichson, and Barton Keyes from Double Indemnity.

And that's just scratching the surface.

So... I'm complicated. Heh.

[pathoftheturtle]

Well, you are complicating, at least.

I see what you're saying, though I'm not sure that you really chose the best example to make your case. The reasons I love Dr. Frank-n-furter (insofar as I do) are pretty much the same as the reasons that I love Alex.

Truth be told, there are many, many other characters that I like. This isn't meant to be definitive; it's just a party game.

Ozymandias and Lady H: I'll let you know what I think of your lists, soon as I have the time.

Markie Post?!?!? I freakin' wish I looked like her!!

Of course, I never really watched the show so personality-wise, I'm clueless.

That was the show that made John Larroquette famous, in playing state's prosecutor "Dan Fielding" as the ultimate sleazy lawyer character. It worked for the sitcom to make the public defender his opposite. Where he was cynical and invariably selfish, she was always sweet and a little naive, eager to fight for the bizarre New Yorkers that came up on charges in each episode.

ETA : Mister Roberts is a hero of mine, and one of my favorite characters - ever. Nice.

Thanks!

[turtlex]

Markie Post?!?!? I freakin' wish I looked like her!!

Of course, I never really watched the show so personality-wise, I'm clueless.

That was the show that made John Larroquette famous, in playing state's prosecutor "Dan Fielding" as the ultimate sleazy lawyer character. It worked for the sitcom to make the public defender his opposite. Where he was cynical and invariably selfish, she was always sweet and a little naive, eager to fight for the bizarre New Yorkers that came up on charges in each episode.

ETA : Mister Roberts is a hero of mine, and one of my favorite characters - ever. Nice.

Thanks!

[Kidd Ikarus]

I've been trying to put a list together for this thread for the last couple of days and my mind kept going completely blank. Finally I think I have put one together that is semi-suitable. In no particular order :

Eddie Dean (The Dark Tower)
Roland Deschain (The Dark Tower)
Wolverine (X-Men)
Gambit (X-Men)
Tyler Durden (Fight Club)
Neo (The Matrix --- Feel like I need to explain . . . Not Keanu Reeves mind you, but the character . . . kind of like I wanted to be Neo, sort of thing . . . I know it's stupid but it's true)
Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII/ Final Fantasy VII Advent Children)
Zidane Tribal (Final Fantasy IX)
Rorsharch (Watchmen)
Spider-Man (Comics not movies)

[cody44]

I'll throw my list out there for everyone.

Rorschach (Watchmen)
Jake (TDT)
Clarisse McClellan (Fahrenheit 451)
Samwise (Lord of the Rings)
Andy Dufresne (Shawshank Redemption)
Benjamin Linus (Lost)
Ender Wiggins (Ender Series)
Rupert Giles (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
John Locke (Lost)
Odd Thomas (Koontz's Odd Thomas)

Their you go!

[LadyHitchhiker]

The reasons I love Dr. Frank-n-furter in RHPS are far different from the reasons I love Alex from A Clockwork Orange or Ford Prefect or the entire cast of The Lion in Winter or Dr. Cox from Scrubs or Sterling (or Darius or Jeffrey) from Jeffrey or Walter Neff, Phyllis Dietrichson, and Barton Keyes from Double Indemnity.

And that's just scratching the surface.

So... I'm complicated. Heh.

Oh I couldn't even CHOOSE one of the characters as my favorite from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. I love them all sooooooooooo much.... You have some great picks that came straight to your head!!!! But I picked the one I relate the most to.

[Woofer]

Thanks. And you're right about a certain similarity between Alex and Frank, but off the top of my head I didn't think of similar traits that drew me to each.

I'll think further on this, but I have to get going on my dead pool list. I have been otherwise occupied.

[ola]

I feel like I need to categorize these, because otherwise they seem too all over the place.

Ten in no order:

[heroes?]
Jean-Luc Picard (Star Trek:tNG)
Dale Cooper (Twin Peaks)
Roland Deschain (duh)
Cuthbert Allgood (see above)
John Locke (lost)

[villains?]
The Judge (Blood Meridian)
Ben Linus (Lost)
Anton Chigur (No Country For Old Men)
The Joker (Dark Knight)

[other?]
The Dude (The Big Lebowski)

I'm sure I'm missing a bunch. Trying to make it a spontaneous thing.

[turtlex]

ola - re: Jean-Luc Picard. *bows head* Picard is also my Captain.

[Brice]

Jason "JD" Dean-Heathers
Hannibal Lecter
Alex DeLarge/Burgess-A Clockwork Orange
Dean Moriarty
Roland Deschain
Randall Flagg
Clarence Worley-True Romance
Tony Montana-Scarface
The Scarecrow-The Wizard Of Oz
George Bailey-It's A Wonderful Life